Langkawi (Malaysia), More Than Just An Island

We, or rather I could not believed our luck how blue the skies were when we touched down Langkawi airport two weeks ago. The first thing that strucked us as we made our way to the taxi lane were its humidity. Even our lightest cotton T could not stop us from reeling the heat - all drenched with sweat within minutes of exposure. We tried and managed by blasting the aircond of our rented car as soon as we enter them. Not a minute wait. Our lovely resort room´s aircond at the Sheraton were not spared. They were constantly on standby and we suspect that this is a usual practise here as we found an extra card key already slotted comfortably at the entrance. Our stay were punctuated further with lovely visits to beautiful resorts around this magnificent island but always ending up in airconed coffeehouses for needed drink.



Heat aside, Langkawi island is all we dreamed off. It had stretches and stretches of beautiful, soft, sandy beaches that glossy magazine booast about. Over here, the waves sings to you while the palms from the coconut trees whispers sweet nothing in your ear. When midday sun gets too much, we took a cable car ride up Mount Mat Cincang for a nice temperature drop welcome. The ride up is windy and breezy with the air flowing into the cabin via the ventilation slits at the top. Once up there, there hung the famous Sky Bridge - a curved, suspended pedestrian bridge that makes one feel like they are walking on clouds. The view here is breathtaking. It seems that one can view as far as Tarutao Island in Thailand on a clear day. We had no such luck.

Langkawi had a lot to of nature to offer too but we did none of those. The lazy bones in us were screaming for TLC, and they are so right. There´s the Air Terjun Temurun waterfall, Sungai Kilim Nature Park, Gunung Raya - the highest peak in this 99 anchipelago island, Mangrove visit and more.



This island had developed into a beautiful little haven. There wasn´t that many beautiful resort scattered around the island many years back e.g Four Seasons and Westin. Nor was there the Cenang Quay smacked in a lil corner of Cenang Beach, or Perdana Quay up north where private sail boats docked for the night. BonTon was a surprise treasure for a fifth timer like me. Built on a 100 year old coconut plantation, it offers not only a secluded resort away from it all. The Temple Tree, its latest addition is an ambitious restoration project bringing together traditional Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian houses sourced from all over the country for short and long term stay. A peak inside brought back nostalgic moment to how our ancestors use to live, albeit the new-age facilities they fitted for the comfort of the guest.



Food on this island were lipsmacking. Since Langkawi lies on Andaman Sea and is located near the border of Thailand, it is no surprise that their local fare reminicense a bit of its neighbour. I had a wonderful time tasting their local Laksas, Nasi Lemak, Ramlee Burger, Kuih Muih, Keropok, Ikan and Sotong Bakar straight from the sea. When the weather gets to use, we indulged in the never ending buffet spread and ala carte in several Starwood hotels ranging from local fairs to international. When we got bored, we head out to Perdana Quay for more selection. The Loaf, a gourmet bread store brought a smile to my bread loving hubby but what we got addicted more was its U-Huhu Cheesecake. Due to strong Euro currency, we spared no thought in ordering the best drinks there is to offer too. From special slings, coladas, mojitos to shots, drinks on this island is anything but delicate.



One of the most memorable activity we did was hiring Affendy as our photographer. With nature´s blessing, we had him and the perfect weather on the day we wanted. He got us comfortable immediately (very important), and within two days, a series of 300+ beautifully captured digital copies were making its way home with us. Affendy and his beloved daughter Nabilah captured us through their lenses all the way from our resort, right up to Harbour Park. Let me tell you about Harbour Park. It is simply a hidden treasure for photographers. There is of course the Perdana Quay where the sail boats docked. If you drive further in, there lies a secluded beach with a mountain backdrop so stunning you might mistaken yourself you´re in Hawaii. At one side lies a group of local fishing sampan in the most colourful hues, while the further end of it stands a magnificent lighthouse. When the sun decent to its rightful place, one just can help stealing kisses from your beloved one although you are in the middle of a photography session!



This place call Langkawi ... ahhhh. Romance is everywhere here. Everyone goes about doing their chore without a care in this world. It takes a while to get use to slowing down to 50km per hour drive from our limitless speed Autobahn back home, but we grew to loved it after laughing at it.



The lighthouse ended our last night in Langkawi with our feed buried deep into the sand, and a happy belly filled with Shuk´s famous platter. Our eyes were hypnotized naturally by the wonderful, panaromic view sunset, and deep inside we know we will return again.